The Big Sit! 2010 Statistics

These statistics reflect information submitted by reporting circles. As teams continue to report their Big Sit! results, the statistics on this page will change to reflect up-to-the-minute information.

Time At Location: Four AM start time to Eight PM stop time. Total 16 hours observation.

Notes: 108 species - a new record for Delaware and the State Park!
Few raptors were moving, but, as always, many species were represented during the course of the day. Waterfowl diversity was lower than past years, but had all three species of Scoter and several dabbler species, including a first for the Cape Henlopen Circle - Mallard. Nocturnal migration provided us with 13 species of passerines before dawn. One late Bobolink was the highlight. Black-crowned Night-Heron made up for no-show Eastern Screech-Owl, but we were all shocked that there was no sign of Great Horned Owl morning or evening! Gladly, by 9 am, we already had 96 species including several more species of Warblers, Purple Finch, and the biggest surprise of the day: SANDWICH TERN! Though they breed in the region, and often at the Cape, they are extremely rare after September. October 10th now constitutes the latest date in Delaware for this species. While no truly rare, or surprising, species were recorded later in the day, the weather was beautiful. It was a delight to close the day out with a flyby Red-throated Loon, in beautiful evening sun, for species #108.

Anecdotes: It's almost sad that one needs an excuse to get out, pre-dawn, to greet the sun as it crests the horizon over the Atlantic. Worse still, en excuse to gaze for several hours at a moonless, star-filled sky, wondering what's above both near and far. This year's Big Sit was not unique. It proved to be just as grand an excuse to get out, enjoy migration, relish the outdoors, and be together, as always. Above the din of Gull squawks, Tern creaks, Yellow-rump chips, and Mockingbird warbles, the laughter of the day was loud and constant. A better occasion to laugh, learn, and teach one another about birds and birding has yet to be conceived. Thanks again, for the perfect excuse...